Colleges Column

The college-savings plans being considered in many state
legislatures and the Congress may appear at first glance to be as "wise
and beneficial" as the successful individual retirement accounts, but
they are in fact "a wolf in ira clothing," according to a Heritage
Foundation researcher.

The government-sponsored plans "would open the door to subsidies for
wealthy families, a boost in college fees, and increased government
interference in the economy," writes Peter J. Ferrara, the John M. Olin
Fellow in political economy at the conservative think-tank.

"A much better plan," he concludes, "would create a true ira clone
for education, a tax-exempt savings plan, managed and invested, as are
individual retirement accounts, by private financial institutions."

Gov. John A. Ashcroft of Missouri has proposed such a plan, Mr.
Ferrara notes.

A new study by the New England Education Loan Marketing Corporation
challenges the growing perception that an increasingly heavy reliance
on college loans is having a detrimental effect on students' access to
higher education and their lives after graduation.

In fact, the study's authors say, the majority of borrowers they
surveyed said loans had increased their access, and that loan
repayments had not affected their ability to buy cars and other
consumer items.

The study was based on a survey of 2,000 Massachusetts residents
currently repaying federal guaranteed student loans. Its authors note
that results should be interpreted with some caution, due to the
limitations of the sample.

Improving the education of minority students--and ensuring that more
blacks and Hispanics go on to higher education--will demand that
community colleges in inner cities form more effective links with high
schools, a new report concludes.

"Urban community colleges must step up their recruitment of black,
Hispanic, and other minority students," said William Mann, chairman of
the commission on urban community colleges of the American Association
of Community and Junior Colleges, which prepared the report.

"They must work with high schools to pave the way to college through
goal-oriented programs," he said. "They must take steps to ensure that
those students remain in the community college through the
completion

of an associate degree and are given proper preparation for entrance
into a four-year college, should that be their goal."

The report notes that the two-year postsecondary institutions share
many characteristics common to urban schools, such as high minority
enrollments, high dropout rates, and an underrepresentation of minority
teachers and administrators.

Copies "Minorities in Urban Community Colleges: Tomorrow's Students
Today," are available for $7.50 each from aacjc Publications, 80 South
Early St., Alexandria, Va. 22304; telephone: (800) 336-4776; in
Virginia, (703) 823-6966.

College and university officials must change their attitudes toward
women, who now make up a majority of enrollments, a report by an
American Council on Education commission maintains.

Issued at the ace's annual convention in Washington last month, the
report notes that, despite gains over the past few years, women remain
underrepresented in the collegiate curriculum and in campus leadership
positions.

It recommends that college presidents correct inequities in hiring,
promotion, and tenure; provide a supportive atmosphere for women on
campus; and commit themselves to identifying, encouraging, and
developing women leaders.

Copies of the report, "The New Agenda of Women for Higher
Education," are available for $2 each from the ace Publications
Department, 1 Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C. 20036.

A cooperative agreement reached by nine Western states will enable
students in the region to attend out-of-state colleges there at
substantially reduced tuition rates.

Under the arrangement, which will take effect next fall, students
attending one of the participating out-of-state institutions will pay
tuitions that are roughly 50 percent higher than those charged in-state
residents. Tuition charged out-of-state students now can be as much as
four times that of state residents.

Participants in the agreement for 1988-89 are 53 two- and four-year
public institutions in Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New
Mexico, North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.

Eligibility requirements vary from state to state and not all degree
programs are open to students at the reduced tuition rate, according to
officials from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education,
which coordinated the program.

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